


A New Kind of Wave

by QueenBoo



Category: The Mighty Boosh (TV)
Genre: Drabble, Fic within a Fic, Fluff, Gift Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:39:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27610120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenBoo/pseuds/QueenBoo
Summary: Howard sometimes records his audio books at home, and Vince loves it.A fic of a fic. This drabble follows on from @silentorator's epic tale 'Why not wait (for the next wave of change'.
Relationships: Howard Moon/Vince Noir
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	A New Kind of Wave

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silentOrator](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentOrator/gifts).



> For my Boosh wife, who changed my life with her tale of Vince, Howard, and a little cafe in Salcombe.
> 
> I wrote a fanfic about a fanfic, we truly have reached the point of no return. This little drabble is all about Howard and Vince following the events of Silentorator's fic 'Why Not wait (for the next wave of change)' it won't make much sense without it. So, go read it (seriously, read it). 
> 
> That being said, enjoy!

Howard’s career continued to grow. A heartwarming combination of his die-hard determination and Vince’s unending support made for a rather lucrative few years following their reunion. 

With soft encouragements and many, _many_ pep talks, Howard had braved the world of writing once more. His exact reasoning had been that perhaps the journeys they'd experienced in their youth--arctic adventures and jungle escapades--were tales fit for publication if penned in the correct way. 

They had celebrated their first wedding anniversary and Howard’s first publication on the same day. 

And they celebrated every publication after that, too. 

Naturally, there would be no one else in the world fit to narrate the exploits of Vitty and Harry--Howard refused to name a character after himself, a lot more humble than he had been in earlier years, and Vince, well, Vince wanted the little girls of the world to have someone to look up to as well. Plus he wasn't going to let an opportunity pass by to make the _real_ Vitty blush and stammer under the namesake. 

"I look up to her why can't millions of kids." Had been his reasoning. With matirty came less of a need to be in the spotlight for Vince Noir. 

Howard had simply been stunned to think that many kids would ever lay eyes on his stories. Though as they had climbed the bestsellers lists, Vince had shot him more than one knowing look. And taunted many 'I told you so's. 

Thus, when the publicist got in touch and floated the idea of the childrens books becoming audiobooks, Vince had vehemently agreed on Howard’s behalf and broke the news to him later. 

The one stipulation in this contract, as was always a stipulation in Howard’s Voice Acting contracts, was that wherever possible he would be able to conduct his work from home. 

If it was a necessity, Howard had no problem going back to London for a day or two. Occasionally, Vince would tag along and spend the day with Naboo or catch up with Leroy (that had been a difficult relationship to rekindle, but after they’d bumped into each other in the Tesco’s opposite Howard’s offices it had seemed rude not to). But the older man flat out refused to be away from Salcombe for any longer than that; often complaining it was just annoying to lug himself backwards and forwards but Vince knew better. 

Vince knew they had spent far too much time apart already for them to ever enjoy separation again. 

The happy result of this rather insistent clause in Howard’s contracts was that while he is recording, Vince is rarely further than an arms length away. 

The reasons for this closeness vary depending on the situation. 

The most common being that Howard by his very nature was a perfectionist. Vince dreads having him help in the cafe because the man can literally spend hours icing one singular cake and in the same space of time Vince has gotten through half a dozen cupcakes and started on the eclairs. It’s a pretty annoying trait sometimes, but in the same instance it’s incredibly endearing. 

Vince has lost count of the amount of times he has sat patiently in the back of the office, listening as Howard does take after take because none of them sound  _ just right _ . The amount of dinner plans that were subsequently cancelled or pushed back because Howard physically couldn’t drag himself away from his work until it felt done, was ridiculous. 

And as much as Vince should be annoyed by this he finds he never can be. He’d happily sit in his nicest kaftan dress watching Howard do what he loves for  _ hours  _ because it was mesmerising to witness. When he gets the line right he just…  _ lights up.  _ Eyes sparkling and moustache twitching as he glances shyly over at Vince; wanting the praise but unable to verbally ask for it. 

“That was amazing, ‘oward!” Vince will coo delicately. And only then can they go forth with their plans. 

Second to that, there are days in which neither of them have anything in their schedules. Vince closes the cafe for a personal day and Howard locks his office with the intention of doing nothing but focussing on each other for a day. 

But of course, sod’s law will mean something comes up. There was one memorable instance of Vince forgetting to turn the ovens off and the smoke alarms alerting them to a few dozen burnt biscuits. They had spent the rest of that day baking fresh stock (Vince had baked, Howard had hovered and slipped warm arms around his waist and pressed kisses to his cheeks--they may have even left strange impressions in the flour on the counter) ready for the next day. 

Which means their days off are never safe from the call of Howard’s work either. 

Last minute projects will come through, rushed scripts and urgent requests for recordings to be completed asap. Those days Vince’s proximity has everything to do with Howard’s need for him to be around. The man can succumb to his own pressure as easily as a collapsing star; and he burns brightly when he does. Thus, it’s better for Vince to be nearby to cope with the fallout. 

Vince will pull up a chair and eagerly listen as Howard does his first few takes. He provides the kind of support Howard needs but is unable to ask for in any coherent way. Meaning he will easily gush, “That was nice, very dramatic.” or “I like when you pause there, keeps us all in suspense.” 

Howard receives all that praise with flushed pink cheeks and murmurs of gratitude. 

But Vince can also provide a different kind of support. Especially because he is always going to be a much nicer critic than Howard ever will be. When the older man gets too anxious to receive the praise then Vince will instead offer what he wants to hear; something to improve on. But he’ll wrap it in a compliment anyway. 

“Why don’t you try it softer,” He’ll say. “Like the way you talk to the kids when you think I don’t notice you sneaking them iced buns.” 

And Howard will chew on his lip with a barely concealed smirk and accept the comment with all the grace of someone who  _ wants  _ the compliment, but can’t accept it without constructive criticism layered on top. 

So it really isn’t unusual for Vince to be around when Howard is recording. 

But the rarest of days, the ones Vince simultaneously looks forward to and dreads the most, are the days when he wakes up feeling like there is a cloud hanging over his existence. 

The days when he tastes sea water in his throat. When stale smoke clogs up his lungs. When the world feels upside down and inside out, and Vince needs someone to pull him from the turbulent waves of his own mind.

Those days, the cafe will remain shut. Those days, Vince will creep into Howard’s office feeling ashamed of himself for interrupting but knowing that no one else can save him quite the way Howard does. 

It never matters if the man is mid-take, the second Howard lays eyes on him, he  _ knows.  _ He will drag those tiny brown peepers from Vince’s head to his toes and everything is dropped. Recording paused, Howard will offer a hand out in invitation because with just that one look he already knows exactly what’s wrong. And exactly what Vince needs. 

Vince will shuffle into the room, lay his smaller delicate hand in Howard’s larger one, and be pulled into his lap. Vince’s legs will dangle to the side as Howard envelopes him. Vince’s forehead tucked into the crook of his neck; the older man’s deep breaths calming him. Grounding him. He’ll try his best to match those breaths until he feels a little less like he’s drowning. 

"Can you be quiet?" Howard will ask. A slave to deadlines as much as he is Vince's moods. Vince will nod his head, but that doesn't stop Howard frowning playfully at him. "Promise?"

"Promise."

And so Howard will relocate himself somewhere more comfortable. A bed (or the floor with enough pillows). His microphone propped beside him and a book or script open in his hands. He already knows that this is the position Vince will appreciate the most. Reclined like this, Vince crawls up his bod and wraps himself around it like a limpet. Head pillowed in the centre of his chest so he can feel the rumble of each word vibrating through his bones. 

That rumbling will exorcise his demons with enough time. 

As time passes, Vince doses in and out of sleep. Howard will learn to hold his reading material with one hand so that the other one can properly connect with Vince. Honestly, Vince isn’t sure which he prefers, when that large hand is twined with his own and Vince can fiddle and fidget with his fingers. Or the alternative, Howard’s careful fingers pulling through the long strands of his hair, scratching at his scalp and kneading his bad thoughts out of his head. 

Howard almost always has to do retakes, though. Despite promising to be quiet, Vince's little sighs and happy hums are almost always picked up by the microphone.

And they're definitely all accidents. Well. At least eighty percent of them are, but what can you do when you get the pleasure of hearing Howard’s voice, creamy and smooth, wash over you like that? It’s a whole new kind of wave, and it’s one Vince will happily succumb to time after time. 

So yes, Vince might make him repeat sometimes, just because he can. 

And sometimes… Howard knows. 

**Author's Note:**

> As always I can be found ont tumblr:
> 
> @queen-boo / @anciientboosh


End file.
